Bookbinding systems can deliver bound documents, including books, manuals, publications, annual reports, newsletter, business plans and brochures. A bookbinding system collects a plurality of sheets (or pages) into a text body (or book block) and applies an adhesive to bind the text body to the cover to form bound documents. Typically, two adhesives are needed. A first adhesive, such as a hot melt adhesive, is needed to bind the plurality of sheets into a text body. A second adhesive, such as a pressure sensitive adhesive, is needed to bind the bound text body to a cover to form the bound document.
Many different systems have been proposed for applying adhesive to a text body spine to bind the text body sheets together.
A system of binding sheets is known which includes a multi-function sheet binder configured to heat a preformed solid hot melt adhesive to a melting temperature. The melted adhesive is formed by pressing the melted adhesive into a spine of a text body and folding down edges of the melted adhesive into contact with the text body. The formed adhesive is then cooled by an adhesive cooler.
A book binder is known that includes a tape heating apparatus with a main heater and a pair of side heaters. The main heater is configured to preheat the entire length of a hot melt adhesive tape. After the spine of a text body is pressed against the preheated hot melt adhesive tape, the pair of side heaters press the overhanging sides of the adhesive tape against the text body to complete the binding of the sheets into a bound text body.
A known apparatus for binding sheets includes an aligning plate that aligns the sheets at the side edge, and two clamping plates that hold the sheets during binding. A heating platen heats and melts a backless solid hot melt adhesive that is placed along the sheet edges. The hot melt adhesive binds the sheets together at the spinal area. The hot melt adhesive also may be used to attach a preformed book cover to the text spine.
Exemplary paperback bookbinding schemes include a cover, with an adhesive strip disposed along a spine area, that is forced between a pair of pressing rollers to form a pocket. A text body is inserted into the pocket with the text body spine in contact with the adhesive strip. The pressing rollers move forcibly toward one another to press the cover firmly against the front and back sides of the text body and to compress the text body sheets together tightly in the area adjacent to the spine. A sonic tool transmits sonic energy to the cover to activate the adhesive strip and, thereby, bind the text body sheets and the cover into a perfectly bound book.
A known adhesive applicator is configured to spread coat an adhesive onto the spine and side edges of the text body to bind the text body sheets and a cover into a perfectly bound book with an attached spine. The adhesive applicator includes a book spine coating nozzle with adjustable side sealing jaws for adjusting the nozzle width for different book thicknesses and separate side glue outlets for depositing glue on the book sides. Glue flow control valves are disposed between the spine coating nozzle and the side glue outlets so the glue deposited on the book sides may be selectively and independently cut off or controlled.